Daily Archives: 18. September 2016

Massimiliano Allegri has called out his Juventus players for being sluggish and complacent in the 2-1 loss to Inter.

The Serie A champions were set to win the Italian derby after a 66th Lichtsteiner goal, only for Inter to battle back.

Goals from Mauro Icardi and Ivan Perisic condemned Juventus to their first Serie A defeat to Inter since November 2012, and Allegri said he hoped his players would learn from the shock result.

“After taking the lead, we didn’t even hold it for two minutes,” Allegri told Sky Sport Italy.

“We got sluggish and complacent, dropping the intensity levels. This defeat has to burn within us and teach us a real lesson, getting our feet back on the ground.

“It was a dirty game, rough and a real battle. We needed more determination and hunger to bring home the result, especially once we had gone in front.”

Allegri opted to leave Juventus’ record signing Gonzalo Higuain out of his starting line-up, favouring Mario Mandzukic, and also played Miralem Pjanic as a deep-lying playmaker, in place of Mario Lemina.

Neither change seemed to have a positive impact but Allegri defended the decisions, saying: “I think Pjanic had an intelligent game in front of the defence.

“Lemina did well for a few games, but don’t forget he only played nine times last season, so we can’t put too much pressure on him.

“The real problem today is that Juventus were bad on a technical level – we gave the ball away cheaply, misplaced passes and above all conceded our third goal of the season on a corner.

“It’s not easy for strikers when the whole team is playing badly. We need to relax, start preparing for the Cagliari game and put together a run of good results.

He added: “It’s not a tragedy. I was worried we’d have such a strong series of early fixtures, but the lads largely did well.

“I think every now and then a defeat like this can do us good, if we are smart and humble enough to learn from it.”

​New Crystal Palace forward Christian Benteke has said he has no regrets over joining Liverpool in 2015 despite his brief stay at the club.

“It was an honour to play for Liverpool, such a big club with such a big history,” Benteke told Sky Sports.

“I didn’t play or perform as I wanted. It was my decision to go there and I don’t regret anything.

“I didn’t have the chances to perform. I learned that’s football. That is why I have no anger against anyone there.”

“I didn’t have the chances to perform. I learned that’s football. That is why I have no anger against anyone there.

“[The] frustration is at myself that in the short time I had to play I didn’t do it as I wanted. Brendan [Rodgers] did everything for me to come there, then I had my injury and I couldn’t help. I wanted to do more.”

“I am very happy to be here and to have the chance to show myself again,” Benteke added. “I am really looking forward to the new challenge.

“I have been in the Premier League for four years and, without wanting to sound arrogant, have been doing well. I want to show again what I can do because last year I didn’t have the chance to do it all season.

​Man Utd will offer a new contract to Marcus Rashford, according to the Sunday Mirror.

The Premier League club are reportedly willing to make Rashford the joint-highest paid teenager in Europe, alongside Bayern Munich midfielder Renato Sanches.

United have made it a priority to keep the 18-year-old out of the clutches of European giants like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

And that means handing ­Rashford, who hopes to start against Watford today, a bumper pay-rise on top of his current £20,000-a-week wages.

The Wythenshawe-born striker signed a contract in May after an extraordinary rise saw him capped by England. It was a four-year deal, with a further 12-month option that would take him to 2021, including significant annual pay rises.

An Old Trafford insider said: “The club will do everything to make sure Marcus is happy at United. That means talking to him and listening to any problems he may have.
It also means paying him the kind of money top international footballers expect to earn.”
Rashford is under contract until 2020.

​Wilfried Bony has said he is focused on Stoke and not thinking about a return to Man City when his loan deal ends.

Before Stoke’s trip to Crystal Palace, Bony said: “I spoke to my agent and to Pep [Guardiola], and to me it was clear to have the opportunity to play one season without an injury, I had the opportunity to come here [to Stoke] and to play, and that was the best thing.

“I have a contract with Man City. I am on loan here and I want to do my best, so I am focused on Stoke. The rest I don’t know what will happen but the most important thing for me is to focus on where I am now.”

Bony, who joined City in a £28m deal from Swansea in January 2015, said injuries were to blame for his inconsistent form at the Etihad.

“At Swansea [I played my best] because I was playing all year, all the time,” Bony added. “It was different compared to Man City.

“Before I arrived there I knew I wasn’t going to play every game, but I didn’t know I would get a lot of injuries like what happened. I had a good three or four months until December but then I got injured again that kept me off the pitch for two months.

“It was quite difficult to come back and try to be my best. It’s important to play. It was a very hard time for me but it’s in the past now.

Another Sunday, another drama. Something peculiar happened on Twitter today, a series of tweets about love or the lack of it, with a female voice, that was both entertaining, private and emotional was published via a brand’s account – TECNO Mobile.

You might have stumbled on these tweets or maybe it was re-tweeted onto your timeline. If you didn’t, we got you!

This happened after the match between Watford and Man United, which kicked off at 12pm. It caused a lot fuss and furore on Twitter.

People retweeted the tweets and speculated that it was possibly a hack — or the social media manager’s was unhappy in her present relationship, itching and in a quest to vent was unaware that it was published via a wrong account.

Even Sub-delivery man – who delivers subliminal messages, gossip and speculations -picked up on the tweets and also jumped on it. So did many other active twitter users.

We are interested in knowing how this plays out, and how TECNO Mobile will recover from it all if they were hacked at all. Or maybe this was a brilliant attempt to gain attention.

​Kevin De Bruyne’s superb form for Manchester City is an embarrassment and a nightmare for both Jose Mourinho and Chelsea, according to the Sunday Supplement panel.

“It’s a nightmare for Chelsea,” Matt Law told the Sunday Supplement. “He made eight appearances for Chelsea, not starts just appearances.

“It’s an embarrassing situation for Chelsea but I think it does lay at Mourinho’s door. It shows his flaw with young players and managing situations in that he couldn’t manage the situation to a point where he could show De Bruyne that there could be a place for him in that team.”

The Times’ Oliver Kay added: “It is embarrassing. It’s embarrassing for Mourinho, it’s embarrassing for Chelsea. I suppose if he was at any other club Chelsea could think of buying him back for three times more than they sold him for and do their usual buy-back policy. It’s an uncomfortable situation for the club.”

Chelsea, under Mourinho, sold the Belgium international for £18m to Wolfsburg in January 2014 with De Bruyne having made only eight appearances for the Blues.

But after being named German Footballer of the Year in his first full season at the Volkswagen Arena, City brought him back to the Premier League for a club record fee of £54.5m in the summer of 2015.

​Free agent Emmanuel Adebayor has labelled Lyon’s decision to pull the plug on his proposed move to the club as “nonsense”.

The Togo striker had seemed on the verge of signing for Lyon until the Ligue 1 club pulled out, citing the 32-year-old’s forthcoming participation in the Africa Cup of Nations and his ineligibility to play in the Champions League group stages.

“They said that? That’s nonsense,” Adebayor told L’Equipe when to comment on Lyon’s decision. “They came to me after we had qualified, so they knew I was going to play.

“If they start looking for such excuses, they will kill themselves. I’m the captain of my country, so how could I not go? What if a Frenchman refused to play in the Euros?

“Lyon spoke to Claude Le Roy, my coach with Togo, and they didn’t ask for special treatment. This was absolutely never a reason there was no deal.

“Terms were agreed on Tuesday. I thought it was just a medical then to sign.

“I found out [they had pulled out] on Saturday morning. Le Roy told me he had seen it in L’Equipe. I called my agent who more or less confirmed it to me.”

Speaking on Saturday, the general officer commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Enugu, Ibrahim Attahiru, said 38 of their camps and 91 illegal refineries as well as bunkering sites were destroyed during the gun duel in the Niger Delta region.

This is even as 55 assorted weapons were recovered with several of the suspects fleeing with various degrees of injury.

“The precursor operations were followed by `Exercise Crocodile Smile’ proper, which was orchestrated and conducted with sequencing and lines of operation to upgrade the skills, expertise and competence of the troops in land and riverside environments,” he said.

“Over 3,000 soldiers were deployed along two axis on land, creeks and the general littoral area of the Niger Delta region, while forward-operating bases were established from where operations were conducted along the creeks and littoral area.”

While stating that the exercise aimed at stemming growing restiveness within the region, the GOC, however, regretted that four soldiers died during the exercise.

According to Attahiru, three soldiers lost their lives in a boat mishap, while one died during cross fire with the militants.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has blamed bad luck and bad officiating for his side’s loss to Watford.

Capoue opened the scoring for Watford, before Rashford scored the equaliser. However, in the final seven minutes Juan Zuniga restored Watford’s lead and Deeney scored from the spot to give the home side a 3-1 win.

United are now six points behind Manchester City, after three consecutive losses in all competition.

The frustrated Mourinho felt Anthony Martial had been fouled in the build-up to Watford’s first goal from Capoue and suggested his side were on top when Watford struck twice in the latter stages.

He told BT Sport: “In the first half for about 25 to 30 minutes we didn’t play well and that is something that we can control. We can improve, we can work on it.

“Then the referee and the linesman’s mistake is not under my control. I can’t do anything to improve it. That [the Martial incident] is an obvious situation.

“I think there is no debate, no controversy. I think that is an obvious situation, like it was obvious last week against Man City but it’s something I don’t control and I cannot even be critical of.

“In the eyes of everyone – it doesn’t matter whether you are a Manchester United fan or a Watford fan or whatever – it was obvious.

“In the second half we were much better. We get the draw [equaliser] and after that we were the team. Gomes makes a phenomenal save and the lucky moments again are not something we can control.

“We cannot control the referee, we cannot control the lucky moments. We had that period where, in the stadium, everyone was thinking about Manchester United going on to score a goal and win the game.

“The only thing we can control is our individual and collective mistakes like for their second goal.”

Mourinho went on to describe the decision not to award a foul on Martial following Miguel Britos’ challenge as “ridiculous” and reiterated his belief that factors outside of his control played a key part in the loss.

He said to BBC Sport: “The first factor depends on ourselves, it relates to our individual mistakes and collective mistakes as individual players and as a team. We have to improve something, it is in our hands.

“The second factor is the referee and I can’t control their mistakes. The story of the game is the result and not the ridiculous situation of the first goal.

“The third factor is luck, we didn’t have it. We were the best team when we lost.”

He addded: “We started the season very well and had good results. I feel the first moment we had a defeat, a difficult situation, some of the boys are having a bit of difficulty coping with the negativity.

“You see Ashley Young, his mentality, the happiness and confidence he brought to the game is something more players need to have.”

African richest man, Aliko Dangote, has called on the federal government to sell off the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas company, NLNG, as well as other dormant but huge capital-generating sectors and invest the proceeds back into the economy to bring the country out of its current recession before the end of 2016.

“The only way for us to get out of this recession is to make sure we move into action quickly; action by diversifying the economy quickly.

“If I had challenges in my company, I would not hesitate to sell assets, to remain afloat, to get to the better times, because it doesn’t make any sense for me to keep any assets and then suffocate the whole organisation.

“What we need to do now in my own thinking… we have a lot of assets to sell. We can sell part of the joint venture; part of the shares. You know government normally owns 60 percent.

“We can sell in an open tender be it Chinese. We can change the term and make it an operating one, just like what we have in NLNG. We also have another asset I think we don’t really need.

“The African finance corporation; it can fetch them $800million easily. My own suggestion before was that they should even sell 100 percent of NLNG. I don’t think government should be in any business of investing in sectors of LNG.

“A company like that, with earnings of $1.5 billion on the average, they should get anywhere between $12 billion and $15 billion.”

“You will not believe that the crisis that we have today, if we have $15 billion, adding it to our $25 billion, that is $40 billion reserves. That will give confidence, confidence will come back, then government will back it up with proper economic policy, where people can see the roadmap.

“Latest by fourth quarter we will be out of recession. It should be a partnership between government and private sector. We have all the answers, Nigeria falling into recession does not really scare me, if we take action.”

“Once we can sell assets, and put $15 billion together, you’d be very shocked at how much the dollar will actually drop, you can easily see 250. What is happening today is mere speculation.

“To currency, everybody will speculate, banks will speculate, companies will speculate, individuals will speculate, because if you have money you want to send in from abroad you will keep sending in trickles.

“If you know that CBN has $40 billion in reserves today, if you have $100,000, you might even sell it forward because you know that this rate is going to crash and you must quickly sell it.”

Nigeria is a nation blessed by all means in both human and natural resources. But as it is, her economy is suffering from its worst crisis in years. Latest reports from the National Bureau of Statistics indicate that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined by -2.06 percent in real terms. The non-oil sector accordingly, declined by 0.38 percent in real terms in the second quarter of 2016 while, nominal GDP growth in manufacturing was recorded at negative 1.02 percent. This is said to be 1.09 percent points lower than the 0.07 percent recorded in the corresponding period of 2015.

This piece was written by David Dimas. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of 360Nobs.com.

As policymakers scout for solutions on how to restructure the economy, Nigeria’s political geyser is once again erupting with asperity and steamy debates on where the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) ‘change’ deliverables should start from.

In fact, Nigerians alike have wasted no time in stroking the keyboards to sagaciously justify why the ‘change does not or should not begin with’ them. Arm-chair analysts have also been quick to offer President Buhari some solutions to the current economic crisis directly threatening to ground the economy. Even past and present economic saboteurs have suddenly found their voices and joined the blame game.

For as long as I can remember, the 2015 Presidential election was won through grandiloquent criticisms of the alleged poor performance of the then President Jonathan-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The APC got to the heart of Nigerians with promises but forgot you cannot appeal to their patience for long-suffering.

In his 2008 February 5th Campaign speech in the state of Illinois, then Senator Obama informed his followers that “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

The last view is good enough reason to support the popular view that the “Change Begins With Me” initiative has come many months late.

Be that as it may, the economy clearly requires the support of all stakeholders to bounce back. Instead of shooting down the initiative which I interpret to mean making attempts to start doing the right thing or stand up for what is right, we need to understand and embrace our roles as citizens in the call for restructuring the economy.

It is pathetic that Nigeria, though endowed with an amazingly vast arable land, still finds herself in a position where she needs to augment her supplies by importing most of her food needs due to a poor agricultural system. It is most painful to note that the value chain from agriculture that most developed nations utilised to get to where they are today, still remains untapped in Nigeria.

That said, Nigerians are not to blame for whining about not going back to the farm as large scale commercial agriculture, food processing and food preservation, among others, require constant power supply.

As it is in Nigeria, energy and power supply have remained deplorable.

If addressed, stable energy supply can spark motivation for investment and promote petty trade and job creation which will cut down the crime rate in the country.

The government can invest in hydro-power, solar and wind energy to provide quick response to power supply shortages.

It is time for us to put on the thinking cap and stop fighting the philosophy of change. It should be seen for what it is, to restructure and develop our nation.

This piece was written by David Dimas. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of 360Nobs.com.

On behalf of the federal government, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) called on Samsung to provide information on the full status of its compliance with the global directive on the company on the recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

In a letter to the company dated September 14, 2016, signed by its Director General, Dupe Atoki, the CPC said:

“The attention of the Council has been drawn to media reports indicating that the lithium-ion batteries for Samsung Galaxy Note 7 are prone to catching fire.”

It stated further that “the said faulty batteries have reportedly caused the phone to explode in 35 separate incidents, sometimes bursting into flames, damaging property and leaking dangerous chemicals,” expressing concern that “some Nigerian consumers may already have purchased the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 for personal or other uses.

“You are, therefore, directed to, within seven days of the receipt of this letter, furnish the Council with information on the full status of your compliance with the global directive of Samsung to recall the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 forthwith, including other measures you may have taken to safeguard the safety and interest of Nigerian consumers in this respect.”

On behalf of the federal government, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) called on Samsung to provide information on the full status of its compliance with the global directive on the company on the recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

In a letter to the company dated September 14, 2016, signed by its Director General, Dupe Atoki, the CPC said:

“The attention of the Council has been drawn to media reports indicating that the lithium-ion batteries for Samsung Galaxy Note 7 are prone to catching fire.”

It stated further that “the said faulty batteries have reportedly caused the phone to explode in 35 separate incidents, sometimes bursting into flames, damaging property and leaking dangerous chemicals,” expressing concern that “some Nigerian consumers may already have purchased the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 for personal or other uses.

“You are, therefore, directed to, within seven days of the receipt of this letter, furnish the Council with information on the full status of your compliance with the global directive of Samsung to recall the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 forthwith, including other measures you may have taken to safeguard the safety and interest of Nigerian consumers in this respect.”

While Maisie’s toughest scene was in Season Six where she said, “My name is Arya Stark of Winterfell, and I’m going home”; Harrington, who was the ‘Lord of the Night’s Watch’, revealed his most difficult scene – also in Season Six – as the “long one-shot battle scene in the ‘Battle of the Bastards.”

According to Anna Lisa Raya for hollywoodreporter.com, Maisie Williams revealed about her toughest scene:

“My name is Arya Stark of Winterfell, and I’m going home.” This line has been such a long time coming.

It was so difficult to capture the whole of Arya’s journey in one sentence, but that’s basically what I was asked to do.

We did a roll, and I probably ended up saying the line about 20 times — different intonation, varying vulnerability, alternative speeds.

I honestly couldn’t tell you which read [director] Mark Mylod picked. There were only subtle differences, but I was happy with the finished scene, and I’m glad to be ‘going home.’

“The long one-shot battle scene in ‘Battle of the Bastards.’ Oh God, we rehearsed that for days and days because it was one continuous shot with a couple of cuts. Most of those horses are real.

It was such a delicate dance, and it was a dangerous one because you have real horses galloping back and forth — and a lot of the time my back is to them. You had to be very, very precise about each of those beats.

We rehearsed all of the fights — I just went through it and through it and through it. It is a dance; if you liken it to a dance, that makes it more manageable.

Director Miguel Sapochnik put together a preview of the whole battle and showed us all what we were planning, and we all went, ‘OK, that’s going to be really hard.’ But I loved how it turned out.”

Jon Snow, Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch

Jon Snow & Ayra Stark are one show’s favourite characters

In theEmmy award-winning series, Kit Harrington, 29, and Maisie Williams, 19, play the role of fictional-siblings who got separated after the death of their father, Eddard “Ned” Stark.

Ned Stark was the ‘Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North’. The role was portrayed by Shawn Mark Bean aka Sean Bean, 57.

Sean Bean played the fictional character of Ned Stark in GOT

In the “Game of Thrones ” series, Jon Snow was referred to as the “bastard son of Ned Stark”, though it was just a misconception. He is a half-brother to Daenerys Targaryen, the mother-of-dragons played by Emilia Clarke, 29.

According to gameofthrones.wikia.com:

He (Jon Snow) is the son of Lady Lyanna Stark, Eddard’s sister with Rhaegar Targaryen.

From infancy, Jon was raised by Eddard as his own alongside his lawful children at Winterfell and Jon’s true parentage is kept secret.

Legendary singer, songwriter, performer – 2Face Idibia aka 2Baba begins another phase of his life as he becomes plus one today – September 18th, 2016.

Today is the first day of the rest of his LIFE

After releasing one of the biggest album under the imprint of Kennis Music in 2004; with immediacy, his brand broke through the western and southern region of Africa and even attracted dancehall maestro Bennie Man.

With more than four [4] studio albums under his belt, 2Face is still putting in ‘em soft work to solidify his name in the industry even if he was fortified last year.

His landmark of achievement and archive of good music spans beyond the imagination. And to celebrate It, we made a chart consisting of our top twenty songs by 2Baba.

One of Nigeria’s biggest music star – 2Face Idibia aka 2Baba, is a year older today.

Just like the man in the fancy costume, 2Face’s streak in the industry can’t be touched. And, you talk about the “IT” factor in the African music industry; 2Face Idibia cannot be left out.

The music veteran has been nothing short of being consistent with his releases and when ever he decides to put out the finesse touch –the music videos– for some of them; he makes sure it’s worth watching.

Ihe Neme

African Queen

A family in Benin City, Edo state has announced they have disowned one of their daughters over her alleged involvement in lesbianism.

The family said the reason for the decision to inform the public that they were disowning their 27-year old daughter who is based in Italy, was because the fact she was a lesbian has been made public and has brought shame upon them.

Head of the family, Mr Mike Omohe informed journalists about the family decision after a family meeting at their family house in Benin City. “We have been fully informed of our daughter’s shameful act of lesbianism. We now know that true to rumors we have heard in the past, she is now a lesbian,” he said.

He added that the young lady will not be recognized as a member of the Omohe family anymore and is not welcome in the family house even went on to say if she ever came home to Nigeria she would be reported to the authorities so as to be jailed.

“As a responsible people, who puts premium on African culture and tradition, we disapprove of her act. She is no longer qualified to be associated with us as we know that her unrepentant act constitutes sin to man and God,” Mr Mike Omohe said.

Rapper Snoop Dogg was honored at the taping of the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards last night.

The veteran rapper was handed the award by Kendrick Lamar in front of a packed crowd at the Cobb Energy Performing Centre.

“He mastered the game through tests and challenges that earned him the respect of a college professor, except his game came from the streets,” Lamar said. “He put (me) on game, so I would avoid the same pitfalls … Snoop Dogg was the God, and continues to be so.”

Snoop Dogg honored at BET Hip-Hop Awards

Receiving the award, Snoop gave advice to upcoming rappers, advising them to keep pushing.

“To all the young rappers in the game, a lot of people don’t understand you. Y’all are misunderstood,” he said. “I was misunderstood at the beginning. So you got to keep pushing, be original and diverse. Hip-hop was created many years ago and it’s taken people so many places. You have to be who you are.”

Slaven Bilic embarrassed after West Brom loss

“The problem is you can’t expect anything from the game when you are 3-0 down and make so many mistakes both as a team and individually.

“I felt very embarrassed myself and I’m sure the players too because we let the club down.”

The loss was the Hammers’ third on the trot, and have now dropped down to 17th on the log.

“I said we can live with the Man City defeat and we can live with the Astra defeat because we had eight players injured, but this is now a second week in a row that we haven’t played as good as you have to play, like we did last year”, he explained.

“The problem is I wouldn’t say huge. But the problem is it happened again. We however have to be aware of the situation and we have to act.”